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| Johnson had a big game last night. Photo Credit: Getty Images |
The Lions defeated the Giants 35-14 last night as they got there season off to a fast start. Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson and the Lions offense had a very impressive showing.
By: Alex McMahon
Pre-game: On paper, the New York Giants had a perfect preseason with a straight 4-0 record with victories over the Steelers and Patriots at home as well as on the road at Indianapolis and at the Jets. However, the Giants have been plagued with injury and their offensive line still looks to be shaky. The Detroit Lions also had a positive preseason winning 3 games against the Bills, Jaguars and Browns whilst only losing once to Oakland.
Despite the Giants pulling off the better group of results in the preseason, Detroit went into the game as massive favorites against Big Blue, who have underperformed since their last Super Bowl victory back in 2011. In the betting, the Detroit Lions were placed at 1.4 to win the matchup whilst the Giants were placed at around the 2.9 mark.
Who can blame the bookmakers for making the Lions firm favourites when they have quarterback Matthew Stafford leading an offensive unit consisting of Reggie Bush, Golden Tate, Joique Bell, rookie Eric Ebron and star player, Calvin Johnson, a.k.a Megatron. For the fantasy players out there, Megatron was the highest projected wide-receiver this week as he was estimated to record 20.40 points with 144 receiving yards and a receiving TD. But enough about fantasy projections, let’s talk about reality and tonight’s game.
First Quarter:
The Lions received the ball from the Giants kick-off deep in the end-zone where punt-returner Ross took a knee. Immediately, the Lions went after that injury-hit Giants defence as Reggie Bush picked up a first down on the opening play of the drive. On the very next snap, Matthew Stafford flung it out to Megatron on the touchline who made the catch for a decent gain but he was penalised on the play. A fast start was rewarded with points on the next play as Stafford found an open Megatron for a big play and first points on the board with just over 12:00 left in the first quarter. (DET 7-0)
The Giants had little immediate response as they went three-and-out in their first series of the game. A few plays later, Detroit were facing second down and 18. Stafford flicked it to Bush who easily made up the yardage due to the gaping holes that were appearing in the Giants defence. Matthew Stafford continued to throw the ball down the field with relative ease finding Megatron and Pettigrew to put Detroit in great field position just inside the 30 yard line. A second TD for Johnson came moments later as Stafford found him free in the end-zone, giving him 98 receiving yards and 2 touchdown passes with over 5:00 still on the clock in the first quarter. (DET 14-0)
The teams exchanged possessions in the closing minutes of the quarter, with a three-and-out series for both sides. The Giants finally got the offence going on the last drive of the quarter, gaining a couple of first downs. However, whilst on third and 6, Manning’s offensive line collapsed and he was sacked for the second time in the game. Luckily for the Giants, a late hit on the kicker meant that Detroit gave up a 15 yard penalty and an automatic first down, giving the Giants excellent field position for the start of the next quarter.
Second Quarter:
The Lions defence continued to be aggressive but also giving up penalties, presenting Manning with a golden opportunity on the 1 yard line and a first down. A risky attempt on fourth down paid off though as the young tight-end Donnell made the play to halve the deficit. (DET 14-7)
The Giants defense forced the second consecutive three-and-out series for the Lions, forcing Detroit to punt again. The punt was slightly charged down and Eli was given the ball at the 39 yard line. The mean Detroit defence sacked Eli once again on third down and forced the Giants to punt after only gaining one first down on the drive with 8:00 left in the half.
The Lions gradually made their way up the field with short runs, handoffs and passes until Stafford threw to his favourite target Johnson again, gaining 20 yards on the play and set Detroit up in field-goal range. The effect of this play was hindered as yet another penalty went against Detroit for grabbing the face-mask. This was their eighth penalty of the half, with a total of 85 penalty yards. This is an issue that needs to be resolved sooner rather than later as the better teams will make them play for such untidy defending. With only a few minutes of the half to go, the new rookie kicker for Detroit attempted a 43-yard field goal but dragged it wide, keeping the gap between the sides at a converted touchdown only going into the second half.
Third Quarter:
The Detroit defense came out aggressively in the first series of the second half forcing Eli Manning to throw an interception on third down. Nate Freese redeemed himself for his earlier field-goal miss as he scored to extend the gap to ten points. (DET 17-7)
The Giants went three-and-out once again after coming under threat from the likes of Suh on the drive. The Lions found themselves in excellent field position after Stafford threw a 43 yard-pass on third down to Golden Tate as well as another pass to tight-end Fauria who took Detroit to the 9 yard line. Detroit couldn’t force their way into the end-zone so were forced to take another field goal. (DET 20-7)
Eli Manning and the offence started their drive on the 20 yard line. First play of the drive was an interception which gave Detroit excellent field position once again as Reggie Bush put Detroit within 10 yards of the end-zone with a fresh set of downs. Matthew Stafford ran in a TD himself on second-down to develop the lead further. (DET 27-7)
The defense was relentless from the Lions all night, particularly against the run but the Detroit secondary was caught out from time to time. Manning made a 20 yarder to Cruz to put the Giants into Detroit territory with under 2:00 in the quarter to go. New York required 1 yard on fourth down and successfully made this, keeping the drive going into the fourth quarter.
Fourth Quarter:
The Giants found themselves in all sorts of trouble as they suddenly faced third down and 15 yards to make up. They made up the yards giving Eli possession in dangerous field position, which he exploited as Jennings caught a pass and ran for extra yards to the 1 yard line. Jennings fought his way into the end-zone on the next play to close the gap slightly between the two sides. (DET 27-14)
Megatron shows up back in the game to catch a 25 yard pass from Stafford, a vital play on third down. He then threw again to Johnson for an 11 yard gain putting Johnson’s production to 164 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns and, for those fantasy fans and owners, 28.40 fantasy points. More importantly for the Lions, Stafford managed the clock superbly during the early part of the quarter. Another third down came and another successful completion for the Lions and Stafford. Joique Bell runs into the end-zone for the TD on the next play with only 4:39 left on the clock. Lions went for the 2 pt conversion in an attempt to increase the lead to 21pts and were successful. (DET 35-14)
The Giants tried to make a fourth down but failed on their drive. After this, Stafford controlled the clock with the run game and Detroit safely held out for a comfortable victory. END SCORE: DETROIT LIONS 35 – 14 NEW YORK GIANTS.
Summary:
What a commanding performance from the Detroit Lions. Other than their persistent foul play, they were excellent across all sections of the field. Matthew Stafford controlled the game brilliantly when required but also was not afraid to make plays. Megatron was fantastic as per usual, outscoring his fantasy projection and winning fantasy matchups for owners all on his own. The Lions secondary could certainly be improved and if they suffer any more injuries, they could be in serious trouble in that area. They were made to look better than they are today due to Manning throwing interceptions but they can certainly be exploited in the backfield. With regards to the Giants, they struggled all day to get the run game going. Rashad Jennings rushed for 46 yards and received 50 pass yards. That tells its own story. I believe that New York didn’t exploit the lacklustre Detroit secondary well enough today for them to seriously challenge the Lions, although I couldn’t really see any way that the Lions would not win this matchup today.
Looking forward to next week, Detroit faces a tough game on the road at Carolina, a clash where they will almost certainly have to improve their secondary despite the lack of WR depth for the Panthers. Big Blue face off against the Cardinals in New York which will certainly be a test for them but with the injury issues that Arizona are facing at the moment, no result in that game is a certainty.
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